Cuts put Selfridge's STARBASE in jeopardy

Monday, March 18, 2013

By Chad Selweski Chad.selweski@macombdaily.com @cbsnewsman

As Congress faces the impact of sequester cuts and debates budget priorities, an education program that began at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and spread across the country faces extinction as the Senate tries to craft a new Defense Department bill this week.

The STARBASE program, which teaches fifth-graders about science and technology within the backdrop of high-tech aircraft and vehicles at military bases, is targeted for elimination by a budget amendment proposed by Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Students receive 25 hours of instruction over a 5-day period. At Selfridge, the curriculum is incorporated into base operations, so the STARBASE students over the years have connected their classroom learning to Air National Guard F-16 and A-10 aircraft, Coast Guard helicopters and a NASA shuttle simulator.

Rick Simms, director of Selfridge STARBASE, said the intent was to encourage student interest in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math — commonly referred to as STEM curriculum in today’s vernacular.

“STARBASE has been supporting that before it had a name,” said Simms, who has a staff of three full-time educators and six part-timers. “This is all hands-on. We show them the practical applications of what they’ve learned.”

In Washington, in order to win approval for his amendment, McCain will have to outmaneuver the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin.

After the Selfridge STARBASE program began in 1991 through a Kellogg Foundation grant, Levin took the program under his wing and secured federal funding for the program starting in 1993.

Since then, STARBASE, which is run by a nonprofit corporation, has spread to 76 military installations in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The program carries a $27 million price tag.

In a recent speech on the Senate floor, McCain railed against numerous expenditures in the proposed defense budget. He referred to a $5 million additional appropriation for STARBASE, but his amendment calls for ending the program.

McCain said: “Some of the items include $120 million for Guam; $5 million for the National Guard STARBASE Youth Program; $154 million for alternative energy resources. It goes on and on. In the meantime, we have ships that cannot deport, planes that cannot fly, and men and women we cannot train and equip. Yet we have this kind of stuff on the appropriations bills.”

STARBASE is referred to in the budget as a National Guard program but it is also hosted by the Navy, Air Force, Air Force Reserves, Army and Marines.

On Friday, Levin released a statement in response to the McCain amendment:

“The STARBASE program, which I helped establish in 1992, connects military volunteers with interested elementary school students to promote education in science, technology, engineering and math,” Levin said. “The enthusiasm and expertise of military personnel is what makes the STARBASE program unique and exciting to elementary school students.The program has been highly successful, both in Michigan and across the country.”

The amendment could face a Senate vote this week, though the schedule for taking up the defense bill is not yet set.